The once high-flying UCLA Football team has been grounded after losing several vital members of the offense. With three regular season games remaining, who will step up?
The UCLA Football team has been beaten down. They are injury plagued and a shell of their once explosive offensive self. ‘Decimated’ seems like an appropriate word. So does ‘dismembered’. ‘Annihilated’ could also be used.
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The point is that the Bruins have a lot of players out with injuries (or some other issues) with some of these becoming season ending.
UCLA, once one of the top offensive teams in the nation, is now struggling to find where their next yards and scores will be coming from.
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The offense is suffering the most with starting QB Josh Rosen out. He suffered a concussion and injured his non-throwing hand two games ago at Washington. His backup, Devon Modster, did well against Utah, but hit his thumb on a helmet and fractured it. Though it is possible for Rosen to play this weekend, 3rd string QB Matt Lynch is getting prepped for gametime.
And now let’s look at the equally embattled receiving crew. Things started to go downhill when TE Caleb Wilson, who made the mid season All-America team, ended his season with a foot njury against Colorado. Despite missing the last four games, he is still second on the team for most receiving yards with 490.
What’s worse is that the Bruins lost their top receiver, Darren Andrews, for the season when he injured his knee last weekend against Utah. Andrews has a team-high 773 yards and 10 touchdowns. UCLA has also been without Jordan Lasley who is 3rd on the team in receiving yards (543) and first in both yards per catch (17.0) and yards per game (108.6). It has been speculated that Lasley has been held out for disciplinary reasons and it is unknown if he will return this year.
So who is left for the Bruins? Where will the offense come from?
As stated above, it is possible Rosen returns for the next game against Arizona State at the Rose Bowl. If he plays, great. If not, let’s hope Lynch can sling the ball around and keep the Bruins respectful.
But who is left to throw it to? The next biggest target is Theo Howard who has not had as much playing time wan hoped, but that changes the is week, especially after he made a spectacular one-handed catch against Utah in the last game. Walk-on Christian Pabico has made some key grabs throughout the season, so watch for him to get into the mix a lot more. Additionally, Jordan Wilson has slowly been coming along as the backup tight end.
And let us not forget that UCLA still has a running game. Though it is not elite, the Bruins should rely on it a bit more, as they did against Utah.
Bolu Olorunfunmi has been solid when he is in the game, hopefully the coaches recognize when he has the hot hand and use him more consistently. Jalen Starks and Brandon Stephens are also available, but the player that really needs to get into the game is Soso Jamabo, who did not play against Utah. The only concern is that the run game has not been as effective (though improved from last season) compared to the passing game.
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The Bruins still have a few weapons, but with some big guns going down and a thinned out roster, offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch is going to have to creative with his team and try to keep UCLA’s last three opponents guessing. If not, it couldn’t go from bad to worse.